


Eternal

by MadeNew



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Love Comes In Many Forms, Team as Family, even if they don't know it, team seven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22347634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadeNew/pseuds/MadeNew
Summary: Team Seven has always been bound by love - but love is sometimes more complicated than it seems.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	Eternal

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to play around with how Team Seven manages to endure - or not - throughout the series. These snippets span from when Sasuke leaves the village until after the final battle between him and Naruto. Please, enjoy!

**[love is patient]**

_“Rasengan!”_

The clones that covered the clearing shouted, sometimes in unison, sometimes in disjointed, confused chaos, as they struggled towards victory. Naruto, exhausted, panting, collapsed in the middle. A few clones disappeared.

As Sakura watched, he took a deep breath, sat up, recreated them, and raised himself to a crouch, focusing hard on the swirling energy in his hands. “He’s been at it for days,” she said softly.

Sai stepped out of the shadows. “He must desperately want to defeat the Akatsuki.”

“Of course,” she said, “of course he does. But that’s not what this is about.”

She felt Sai’s eyes on her, felt Kakashi’s slide to their spot in the woods from where he stood near Naruto. “What is it about, then?” the pale boy asked.

“What it’s always about.” She set down the basket she’d come to deliver and turned to leave. “What it will always be about, until he succeeds or dies. It’s about bringing Sasuke home.”

**[love is kind]**

Sakura had always felt guilty for the promise she’d extracted from Naruto. She’d failed to do anything worthwhile, had instead thrown the responsibility on her best friend, and he’d suffered for it ever since.

It was one of the reasons she fought daily to become stronger. She would not fail again, and she knew – knew in her heart, knew in the soreness of her muscles, that she was succeeding.

But one night each year, it wasn’t enough.

On the anniversary of Sasuke’s defection, she found herself sitting on the same bench where he’d left her. She replayed the night’s events in her mind, and she wept. She grieved for his pain, for her inability to stop him, for the inadequacy of her love, for all he must be enduring away from them. She grieved, and she slept on the bench, waking just before dawn to go about her day as if nothing had happened.

The fourth year, she went down, prepared for her solitary vigil, only to find she wasn’t as alone as she’d expected. Naruto sat there, cross-legged on the bench, a boxed meal in hand and another beside him. “Hey, Sakura-chan!” he said with a smile.

“N-Naruto? What are you doing here?”

The smile faded. “Sitting with you.” He pushed the meal towards her. “Eat.”

She hesitated. “Naruto, this isn’t…”

“Yeah, I know.” His eyes were still and serious. “I know, Sakura. But you don’t have to be alone for it.”

His kindness pierced to her soul. The tears started early that night, but they stung just a little less.

**[it does not envy]**

It hurt, sometimes, to be the only member of Team Seven left in Konoha.

Ino invited her out often with Shikamaru and Choji, and Lee had made it clear that she was always welcome with him, Tenten, and Neji. Hinata checked in on her regularly, and she had to admit, there was nothing like an evening watching Shino tease Kiba into a frenzy to take her mind off things.

But sometimes, she couldn’t accept. Sometimes, it hurt to see them, surrounded by their boys, loved and supported while loving and supporting. Sometimes, it forced her to admit that there were moments she couldn’t quite remember the angle of Sasuke’s jaw or the rough sound of Naruto’s laugh. Sometimes, it hurt too much to feel her isolation.

Once, it was too much, and she left the party early. Ino followed her out. “Hey, Billboard-Brow! What’s wrong with you tonight?” the blonde demanded, hands on her hips.

Sakura turned with pained eyes and admitted, “I miss them.”

Ino’s face softened, her hands falling to her sides. “Yeah, you got kinda rotten luck for a team, huh? Guess you wish you ended up like us.”

Her temper flared. “No!” She clenched her fists because how Ino could be so stupid, she didn’t know. “Team Seven is my team! They are _mine!_ They are family! They are home! And I will always be glad I get to be a part of them! I’m not jealous of you, Ino-Pig!”

And Ino sparked back to life and fought with her, and Sakura turned to leave.

She wasn’t jealous of the other teams. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t miss her own with all her heart.

**[it does not boast]**

“You did an amazing job with them, you know.”

Kakashi glanced up from his book, barely meeting Tenzo’s eyes. “If that were true, things would look very different right now,” he said mildly, “and I don’t think you or Sai would be in a position to comment on it.”

Tenzo shrugged. “Be that as it may, I don’t think you understand the level of loyalty you’ve inspired in your students, both to you and to each other.”

Kakashi resisted the urge to walk away because of all people, the former ANBU should know failure when he saw it. “Then I can only hope that loyalty doesn’t damage them in the future.”

Tenzo reached out and gripped his shoulder, forcing Kakashi to lower the book and look him in the eye. “Kakashi. Very few teams achieve the level that yours has. And if anyone can undo the damage that has been done in the past, it must be Naruto.”

“I…” he paused. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Tenzo let go of him and they continued walking. “So, how do you get Naruto to focus, anyways?”

**[it is not proud]**

“You’ve made good progress.” Kakashi stood, hands in his pockets, looking down at his exhausted student. Naruto looked half alive. His chest heaved with each breath he took, and his eyes were partially closed.

Still, he hauled himself upright, slouched over, still panting. “Thanks, Kakashi-sensei,” he gasped.

“Time to sleep. You’ve done enough for today,” Kakashi said firmly.

“No. I gotta…I gotta get this right.” Naruto took a deep breath, exhaling out in a whoosh and standing straight again. “Sasuke’s training, so I have to be training too.”

“Naruto, you’ve worked hard, and you’re doing very well. Sleep is important too.”

“Not more important.” His eyes were hard. “Sensei, I’ve never managed to learn anything on my own. I always need you, or Pervy Sage, or Captain Yamato. I’m not like Sasuke. I have to work twice as hard as he does to figure this stuff out.”

Kakashi sighed. “That may be true, but that’s also exactly why you shouldn’t work yourself to death trying. Get some sleep, Naruto.” He put a hand on his exhausted student’s drooping head. “Sasuke will still be here in the morning.”

**[it does not dishonor others]**

“They – how _could_ they?!” Naruto’s fists flew, and the tree in front of him shuddered from the impact. “Kakashi-sensei – they – they just – I can’t believe - it’s so fucking _wrong!”_

Kakashi had little to offer him in the light of Konoha’s betrayal of the Uchiha clan. Of Itachi. Of Sasuke. “I know, Naruto. They made a mistake.”

“They let fear control them, Sensei.” Blue eyes flashed so hot and bright that Kakashi wondered if the Nine-Tails chakra had started to leak into Naruto’s soul again. “I can’t believe they –” He spun around again and slammed his hands into the tree, bark splintering as chakra whirled. “We’re supposed to be better than that.” His fingers slid down the wood, and he leaned his forehead against it. “How was Itachi the most honorable of them all?”

Kakashi hesitated. “Naruto, be careful. It’s good to honor Itachi. Good to grieve for him, even. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that all of Konoha stood with Danzo. So few people even knew.”

“Yeah.” Naruto’s fingers clenched again, scraping small splinters away. “We need to be better.”

Kakashi gently gripped his neck and shoulder and pulled him closer. “Yes,” he whispered to his wounded student, an apology that was far too small, “yes, we do.”

**[it is not self-seeking]**

Sakura wasn’t sure when her love for Sasuke had stopped including her. She thought that maybe it could have happened there, on the bridge, with Haku, when she thought he’d died. She ran to him, devastated and terrified, and at first, she prayed her love would bring him back. Then she prayed that _any_ love would bring him back, even if it meant he hated her forever and married Ino – as long as he was alive.

Then again, it could have been after the Forest of Death, when they had been about to start the one-on-one eliminations for the Chunin Exams. She was prepared to raise her hand, make him quit, even though she knew he would hate her for it. She knew they might lose all the camaraderie she’d so carefully built, all the trust he’d been so reluctant to give – but it didn’t matter. Her pain was nothing in comparison to his life.

When she met him on the road leading out of the village, she knew the outcome. Part of her clung to hope, but she knew. She poured her heart out anyways, prepared for the humiliation, the loss, the pain. She offered to leave her home. Anything, anything, to stop him from being alone.

When he struck her through the heart with his genjutsu, leaving her with Kakashi to chase after Naruto, she had only a moment to grieve him. Again, her love was too little for him but far too big for her to set down and abandon.

Sakura wasn’t sure when her happy endings had ceased to include her, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt – if he was alive and well, then she would be, too.

**[it is not easily angered]**

It was dark when Iruka found him, sitting alone on the swing. He sighed. He should have known this would be the right place. Kakashi and Sakura were still searching the village, but they hadn’t known him like this.

“Hey, Naruto,” he said softly, coming up beside him.

The boy looked up, eyes bright and pained. “Hey, Iruka-sensei.”

“I heard about what happened with Sasuke. I’m sorry. I know he was your friend.”

Naruto shook his head violently. “He _is_ my friend. No one understands that, except Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan. Everyone’s so angry. And I get it. He’s done bad things. But…”

“But?” Iruka prompted gently.

“But it…just shows how much pain he’s in. And it…hurts.” Naruto touched his jacket, right above his heart. “How can I be angry when he’s suffering like this? I’m sad for him. I’m angry that he’d take it out on us, but…he doesn’t know how to deal with the pain. And he’s all alone. I know what that’s like, Iruka-sensei. I was all alone before you.”

Iruka’s heart crumbled, and he put his hand on Naruto’s neck. “You aren’t alone now.”

“I know. I won’t let Sasuke be, either.”

He knew it was wiser to argue, to point out the fallacy in his logic, that if someone wanted to be alone, there was no stopping them. Instead, he simply said, “Ramen? Two toppings.”

His student perked up immediately. “Ichiraku’s is still open? Al _right!”_

**[it keeps no record of wrongs]**

“He tried to kill you!”

“I know that.”

“Multiple times!”

“Oh…I suppose.”

“What do you mean, you suppose?! What kind of crap answer is that?!”

Sakura slammed her book down. “It _means_ , Ino-Pig, that I don’t have _time_ for this! I’m well aware of who Sasuke is and what he’s done! It doesn’t change anything!”

Ino pulled back, brow furrowed. “Then you should _know!_ Nothing says ‘I’m not into you’ like a Chidori to the chest!”

Sakura’s heart burned. “It’s not about me, Ino. He’s in pain. It’s not about what he’s _done._ It’s about who he _is_. Just because he’s forgotten – well, Naruto and I haven’t, okay? So can you just go away and let me work!”

Her friend poked her harshly on the arm. “I’m just looking out for you, Billboard-Brow. But if you wanna keep pining away for something that’ll never happened – and it gets you killed – don’t come crawling to me!”

She stalked out of the room, with Sakura shouting at her back, “Can’t really do that if I’m _dead_ now, can I?”

**[love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth]**

Naruto’s words rang in Sasuke’s ears, night after night after night. _“Because I’m your friend!”_

Friend. He didn’t even know what that meant, anymore. Naruto was so – stupid. An idiot. A stubborn fool who would eventually die, by Sasuke’s own hand, because he hadn’t been smart enough to walk away after their fight at the canyon, like any rational person would have.

And they were _not_ friends.

Sasuke sent his blade curving through the air, slicing the tree in its path, reducing it to splinters and sap. He was so tired, but he couldn’t sleep. Not tonight, on the anniversary of their battle, when his teammate’s words echoed so loudly in his heart that everything else was drowned out.

Any sane person would have abandoned Sasuke by now. He knew that. And he and Naruto had never been friends – had never –

Except…they had. It was in the past now, but – but maybe that didn’t make it any less true. For the past.

Sasuke swirled again, nearly cutting down a squirrel who had had the misfortune to cross his path. It squeaked with alarm and lost some fur, but Sasuke let it survive the encounter and make its escape.

Fine. Friends, then. Enemies, now.

Maybe now he could get some sleep.

**[it always protects]**

Protecting them was instinctive. It was as easy as Chidori, as inherent as the Sharingan. Deflecting the attacks from the Ten-Tails, coating Naruto and Kurama in Susanoo – it simply made sense. Protecting them was as natural as breathing, and Sasuke couldn’t have stopped if he’d tried, not now that they were there, behind him, depending on him.

Naruto’s desire to save everyone – save them _all_ – baffled him, but he let it happen. He let Naruto cloak him in chakra and remove him to safety, along with everyone else who stood vulnerable.

Moron. It would’ve made better sense to relocate only those absolutely necessary to the battle.

But when the next attack came Naruto’s way, Sasuke moved anyways.

**[always trusts]**

The teamwork between them was seamless. It was as perfect as it had always been – more so, now that they had both mastered their jutsus.

When Sasuke shot Amateratsu from Susanoo, he didn’t question if Naruto could amplify it. He simply knew that he would. He didn’t have to think about the chakra required; he knew what their balance was, knew it as surely as he’d known that the balance still existed, even after years apart, years as enemies.

Not that Naruto had ever seen it that way.

They landed and fought back to back. Sasuke let himself be vulnerable – but only to them, to Team Seven, to those he knew would not harm him.

It was a tactical vulnerability, for all of them.

But from the time he’d been assigned to them, it had been far too late to change it anyways.

**[always hopes]**

Sakura was so tired.

Her chakra was nearly exhausted. Her mind was worn out. Her body was drained. And here was Sasuke, challenging Naruto, putting the Tailed Beasts to sleep with a look – walking away from her again.

Part of her knew it was futile. Just like it had been before.

The rest of her didn’t care. The rest of her believed in him, knew who he was better than he did, knew that his love for them ran deeper than his pain and fear, knew that he would someday come back to them – because there was no other option.

There couldn’t be.

When he struck her through the heart with his genjutsu, she closed her eyes, knowing and praying and hoping that when she opened them, he would be home again.

**[always perseveres]**

Naruto rallied at the canyon. He pushed away the part of him that was exhausted, the part that had already spent so much fighting Obito and Madara and Kaguya. None of that mattered.

The only thing that mattered was bringing Sasuke home.

He listened to his friend, as he explained, as he described the revolution he so desperately craved, the only answer he had to Itachi’s death – and Naruto’s heart _ached._

“I won’t let you be alone,” he said, and he meant it. He’d always meant it. He’d meant it in their first fight. Nothing had ever been able to change his mind. Not even Sasuke.

When Sasuke charged, his anger and determination clear in his mismatched eyes, Naruto answered in kind because there was no other option. Because giving up was unthinkable.

Sasuke was his friend, damnit, and he was coming home.

**[love never fails]**

At the end of it all, with the world still suspended in a genjutsu so vast it had even stilled the birds, Kakashi didn’t know how he’d expected anything different.

He stared down at his students in both disbelief and joy. Naruto laughed out loud, Sasuke smiled, and Sakura’s healing chakra enveloped both of them in a sudden burst of protective love.

He’d barely dared let himself hope for this outcome, after Sasuke had left. Now, watching them, he couldn’t imagine why he had doubted.

As if Sasuke’s hate had ever been enough to counter Naruto’s and Sakura’s stubborn bond with him. As if there had ever been another choice, once Naruto had promised to bring him home.

Kakashi smiled, pulling on his headband. “He’s really back,” he said to himself.

As if Team Seven would have ever failed.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made this far, thank you! That means a lot to me. The sections are divided up according to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, a famous passage about love from the Christian Bible. Please let me know what you think!


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